Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the important issue of climate change and specifically the action this government is taking to address the climate crisis. This week the House has heard from the Minister for Climate Change and Energy about his role representing the Australian government, accompanied by the Minister for International Development and the Pacific and the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, at this month's 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, COP27, held in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

The contrast between the actions of this government and those of the previous government when it comes to climate is enormous. While those opposite had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support a goal of net zero emissions by 2050, in the short time that we have been in government we have already legislated a target of 43 per cent emission reduction by 2030, on the way to net zero by 2050. The minister commented that the target being legislated was welcomed as providing certainty to industry and investment. At the conference, as the ministers reported, there was a concerted push by some countries to water down the global community's ongoing commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. And I am proud to be able to tell my constituents in Boothby, who I know care deeply about this issue, that our government's representatives work very intensively with our allies, like the UK, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the EU and Pacific nations, to resist any move to water down that target.

I know that many of my constituents are concerned about the impacts of climate change, particularly on developing countries, who are already facing the worst effects and who are often the worst placed to deal with them. That is why I am proud of Australia's role in negotiating for the establishment of a loss and damage fund to support vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters.

Our government also committed to a number of pledges and alliances, including: the Green Shipping Challenge to advance global actions to set the shipping sector on an emissions-reduction pathway that aligns with the Paris Agreement goals; the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership to focus on voluntary actions to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030; the Global Offshore Wind Alliance to create a global driving force for the uptake of offshore wind; the Ocean Conservation Pledge to conserve or protect at least 30 per cent of our ocean waters under our respective jurisdictions by 2030; and the Net-Zero Government Initiative to achieve net-zero emissions from national government operations no later than 2050, which lines up with our net-zero APS target of 2030. These are all really important international pledges to show that Australia is a good partner. We are working with international partners to directly address the causes of climate change.

Of course, it is not just on the global stage that the government is playing a responsible role in tackling climate change. We are doing so at home, and for me that starts in Boothby. That is why I'm so excited that the government's budget included a commitment to establish a community battery in Boothby, in Edwardstown, to enable more Boothby residents to benefit from the take-up of renewable energy. I had the pleasure of a couple of conversations with the minister in the last couple of days about how that is progressing.

We are cutting taxes on electric vehicles to make them cheaper. We're also establishing a Disaster Ready Fund to ensure communities in Boothby and across Australia are effectively equipped and resourced to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events, which are becoming more common and more severe due to climate change. It is why I will not stop fighting in this place and within this government to ensure our government takes a leading role in addressing climate change, locally and globally. While we haven't had the terrible floods that we have seen in the last few months hitting the eastern states, I know that the residents in Boothby see that. We had a terrible storm two weeks ago, the likes of which we haven't seen for many years, so it does appear that climate is affecting us now.

I would like to acknowledge the many groups and individuals in my community who campaigned, petitioned, agitated and ultimately voted for a government that will deliver real climate change action. Without your efforts and your support we would not have a government, an Albanese Labor government, committed to real action to address climate change, representing our country in global forums such as COP. Together we can take action to address climate change and to deliver a better future for all our children. We hear you and we thank you.